Windfall for farmers, miners
SEVERAL farmers and miners have benefitted from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) export incentive scheme, with indications that the exporters have since had various amounts deposited into their accounts.
RBZ has to date paid the export incentive to 80 percent of exporters through the issuance of bond notes totalling US$72,9 million.
The payments also include the incentives on diaspora remittances.
As at December 31, 2016; the major beneficiaries under the Export Incentive Scheme were tobacco growers (US$29,4 million), gold producers (US$10 million) and diaspora remittances (US$5,4 million).
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) public relations manager, Mr Isheunesu Moyo told The Sunday Mail that tobacco farmers received their bonus incentives.
“Some tobacco farmers have received their export incentives in form of the bond notes and have put to use most of their money into the tobacco growing of the 2016/2017 season,” said Mr Moyo.
The apex bank noted that due to the scheme, a number of firms have resumed exports in a bid to benefit from the facility.
One of the incentive’s beneficiary, Mr Benjamin Tatiana, a tobacco grower, said his bonus incentive was deposited on December 23.
“I am very happy. l received over $20 000 of the bonus export incentive just two days before Christmas. It came just in time to enhance my production capacity at the farm and also to attend to my social needs,” he said.
“This incentive has motivated me to increase hectarage under tobacco from 80 hectares last year to 95 this year. Of those 95 hectares, I have 30 hectares of the irrigated tobacco crop and 65 hectares of dry land tobacco and both crops are at the reaping stage.”
Another beneficiary who is a small scale gold miner and owner of Chimona Mining Company in Midlands, Mr Marufu Sithole, hailed the RBZ bonus incentives.
“I am very delighted to have received $14 693 in export incentives courtesy of RBZ’s artistry. Dr Mangudya knew that if exporters are given an incentive to export, they will export more and at the end bring in more foreign currency in the country,” he said.
“We were paid the bonus incentives for the exports we made from May to October last year and from these proceeds I bought a car for my mining company.
“If the export incentives continue in the next five years, most of us will go to another level in our operations.”
According to the RBZ, the export incentive scheme came at the most opportune time given that 2016 was quite turbulent and challenging for the global economy and Zimbabwe in particular.